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Devizes woods will be revived by donation

The volunteer group that runs Drews Pond Wood in Devizes is halfway to its £4,000 fundraising target to rebuild a streamside walk.

A number of trees were blown down by storms in February and the walk is closed off while money is raised to repair it.

Devizes Area Board agreed on Monday night to give the group a grant of £500. This follows a £500 donation by The Trust for Devizes at its annual meeting last Thursday. The trust’s money came from a legacy from Patrick Norton, a former chairman of the trust.

Stuart Hislop, leader of the volunteer group, said: “We had a terrible winter in the woods. We lost three year’s work in one night.

“We had 14 Poplars come down and lots of other small trees.

“But with this and other people’s generosity we hope to be able to start to make a legacy out of a disaster. We plan to use the timber imaginatively and keep the wood as a jewel in the crown in Devizes.”